Our Town
by Reefgirl
Summary: Another songfic, this time it's Kate Rusby's version or Our Town. The expedition is leaving Atlantis and the inhabitants are reflecting on their hometown. Spoilers for Rising and The Return Pt 1


Rating: K+

Spoilers: The Return pt 1, Rising pt 1

Summary: The crew are looking back on their time in Atlantis as they pack to leave.

Disclaimer: I own none of the Stargate Stuff, Lydia belongs to BiteMeTechie, Crysta to NenyaVilyaNenya and Max to Elizabeth Bartlett. Alex and Maria belong to me.

Authors Notes: Another song fic, this time it's Kate Rusby's version of Our Town, a sad song about having to leave your home.

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_Up the street beside the red neon light _

_That's where I met my baby on a hot summer's night _

_He was the tender and I ordered a beer _

_It's been forty years and I'm still sat here. _

It had been a little over forty eight hours since the Ancients had returned to reclaim Atlantis, they had told the expedition leaders that they had to leave as soon as possible and a gloom had settled over the city as people packed up.

Radek Zelenka was in a disused lab on the eastern side of the city lost in memories, he was supposed to be helping Rodney download all the data they'd collected in 3 years but he was being his usual self and Radek wasn't in the mood for a fight with him. He'd set up a still here during the first year of the expedition when the alcohol they'd bought with them ran out. Elizabeth and Kate Heightmeyer had ignored it because when the rumour that alcohol was back had reached the city, spirits had lifted. He turned as someone entered and smiled when he saw it was Alex Ramsey, the head chef

"Thought I might find you here," she said

"Aren't you supposed to be packing up the kitchen" he replied with a smile

"Mick's in charge of that, I needed to crawl out from under the paperwork for a bit," she said. She sat on a crate and sighed

"What is wrong _miláčku_ ?" he asked

"I guess I don't want to go, all my friends are here and it won't be the same, reading emails instead of meeting in the mess hall or over a poker game" tears started to fall down her face "saying goodbye to you is going to be the hardest" she said. Radek wrapped his arms around her

"I know" he replied as he kissed the top of her head, they'd only been together for a short time but it was the happiest he'd been for a long time and now they had to go their separate ways, life was cruel in this galaxy.

_Can't you see the sun's sinking fast _

_And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts _

_Well go on then and kiss it goodbye _

_But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's gonna to die. _

_Go on then and say goodbye to our town, to our town _

_Can't you see the sun's going down on our town, on our town _

_Goodnight. _

Elizabeth was walking through the city, her heart was heavy because the time left to them was running out. Of all the scenarios she'd imagined that had caused them to leave the city, being evicted by the Ancients wasn't one of them. They'd been adamant that they wanted nothing to do with the humans, Elizabeth had pleaded with them to let the expedition stay in a small part of the city but her pleas were ignored. Her heart had broken for Teyla when the Ancients told her the Athosians would have to leave their home on the mainland, she had been bought up to revere the Ancestors all her life and now she found them to be heartless to the plight of their believers. Teyla hadn't shown how disappointed she was about this turn of events but she'd been heard her crying in her quarters late at night. The Athosians, Teyla and Ronon had left for their new home an hour ago, the sight of the Athosians milling around the Gateroom waiting to leave reminded Elizabeth of news footage of refugees being shunted from one place to another. After they'd left, she'd gone to find a quiet place to cry, they had been as much a part of the Atlantis family as the people from Earth. She was heading for the nearest balcony because she wanted to see the sun set.

_It's where I met my baby and I had my first kiss _

_I've walked up Main Street in the cold morning mist _

_Over there is where I bought my first car _

_I turned over once, now it won't go far. _

Dr Carson Beckett was on the balcony outside the medical bay, he was supposed to be supervising the packing up of the supplies but his heart wasn't in it, Dr Biro was more than capable of doing it. He was watching the sunset and letting his mind wander he'd first kissed Laura on this balcony, he'd been treating her for a sprained wrist she'd received from a sparring session with Teyla. It had been quiet that day and he was having a quick coffee break when she'd come out to say thank you for helping her, they'd chatted for a while and Laura had started flirting with him again. It had been going on for a few weeks since her incarceration inside Rodney's head, she'd been giving him lip and he'd said 'I'll show ye, woman' he'd grasped the back of her head and kissed her, it had been the first of many sweet kisses they'd shared. It had been over far too quickly when she'd been posted back to Earth to help in the fight against the Ori, he'd stood here the morning after she'd left staring at the misty sunrise now he was watching the sunset on an amazing part of his life.

* * *

John Sheppard was standing in the jumper bay, he'd spent a good part of the last three years in here. He remembered the thrill he felt when Rodney had bought him in here that first day, Elizabeth has said that he could go after Colonel Sumner and Teyla if he could find an advantage over the enemy that captured them. He'd sat in one of the little ships and it responded to anything he could think of, he'd idly wondered if the little ship could be made invisible. As soon as he'd thought it, everything shimmered and he had out of the ship to find it had indeed disappeared, he'd called for Rodney to go and tell Elizabeth what he'd discovered. He smiled wistfully as he remembered Lt Aiden Ford's excitement at naming the little ship,

"It's a ship that goes through the gate, gateship," he'd said, John had shook his head in despair and they'd agreed on the name 'Puddle Jumper'.

Jumper 1 had always been 'his' ship from that day, they'd been through a lot together she was a bit bumped and scratched in places now but she'd always come through for him. He ran his hand over the hull before turning and heading out into the corridors, he really didn't want to go back to the SGC he wanted to stay with Ronon and Teyla, the only family he had now.

_Can't you see the sun's sinking fast _

_And just like they say, nothing good ever lasts _

_Well go on now and kiss it goodbye _

_But hold on to your lover 'cause your heart's gonna to die _

_Go on then and say goodbye to our town, to our town _

_Can't you see the sun's going down on our town, on our town _

_Goodnight_

Rodney was standing on the Mess Hall balcony staring out to sea, of all the bad luck he'd encountered in his life this had to be the worse, to come all the way to another galaxy to find the Ancients and the moment they did they were sent packing, life wasn't fair.

"Hi Rodney" said Dr Lydia Winter, Rodney sighed he really wasn't in the mood for arguing with her

"What do you want?" he asked

"Nothing, I was looking for Alex but Mick said she'd been gone for a while so she's probably with Radek somewhere" Lydia replied. Rodney took a few seconds to digest this piece of information

"Alex and Radek? When did this happen?" he said, Lydia chuckled

"It's been going on for a couple of months now, you should really look up from your data pad occasionally," she said with a smile. Rodney opened his mouth to say something biting but he could see that she wasn't in the mood for a fight either,

"I guess it's going to be hard for the four of you to say goodbye," he said softly. The entire city knew how close Lydia, Crysta, Alex and Max were and how they all looked out for each other, they were probably closer than SGA-1 were, he also knew Lydia, Crysta and Alex had paid Lorne a discreet visit when they'd heard he'd stood Max up one night.

"We've got another eighteen days on the Daedalus before we go our separate ways, but yeah, it's going to be hard" Lydia replied

"So what are you doing here?" asked Rodney again

"I'm watching the sunset if you must know," replied Lydia

"So am I" he said

"Can I join you?" she asked

"Yeah, I don't see why not" he said as she shifted up the bench to make room for her to sit down.

_I'm sat here on the porch, I see the Lightning Bugs fly_

_I can't see too well for the tears in my eyes _

_I leave tomorrow and I don't want to go, _

_Oh, I love you my town, you'll always live in my soul_

Major Evan Lorne put the last of his bags outside the door of his quarters, he hadn't realised how much stuff he and his daughter Maria had collected over the year. He could see Maria sitting on the balcony, he'd always find her there staring at the ocean if she was upset.

"You got everything you need for the trip on the Daedalus" he asked, she looked at him and nodded "what's up?". Maria buried her face in her pink and white toy cat and shook her head, Evan picked her up, sat her on his lap and held her tight "come on"

"I don't wanna leave 'lantis Daddy" she said

"I know honey, neither do I but the Ancestors say we can't live here anymore" he replied.

"Can't we live with Teyla an' Ronon an' the others?" she asked, he smiled

"We can't, General Landry says we have to go back to Earth" he said. At the mention of General Landry, Maria began to tremble

"We don't have to live in the mountain do we?" she said fearfully. After having spent most of her short life in prison, Maria had developed severe claustrophobia, up to the point of being terrified of being in a room without a window.

"No sweetie, I'll be staying there for a few days but you'll be staying with Grandma", she brightened up at this piece of news "after we've spent a few weeks with Grandma we'll find somewhere to live with wide open spaces and a pretty sunset" he said.

"Yes, I like a pretty sunset" she said

"I know you do" he replied

"Will we still see Max?" she asked. Evan sighed

"I don't know, but I doubt it, she's got her own life to lead on Earth" he replied. His relationship with Max Wainwright, the schoolteacher the IOA had employed to help with the Athosian children, had been rocky at best, things had been fine at first but jealousy and insecurity had driven a wedge between them for months and now, just as they had started afresh, the Ancients had dropped the bombshell. They'd met in the mess hall last night and had made tentative plans to meet on Earth, Max had told him she was going to Chicago for a while and then start looking for work in San Francisco. He'd told her he wanted a posting to a base somewhere either in the desert or by the sea, somewhere small where no one would ask too many questions and Maria wouldn't feel trapped. Max had asked if there was somewhere like that near San Francisco and he'd said he'd try his hardest to find out.

"Pretty sunset" Maria murmured drowsily

"Yeah, we'll go somewhere with a pretty sunset, I promise" he said.

_I can see the sun's sinking fast _

_And just like I've said, nothing good ever lasts _

_Well go on, I've got to kiss you goodbye _

_But I don't want to my lover 'cause my heart's gonna to die _

_Go on then and say goodbye to my town, to my town _

_Can't you see the sun's going down on my town, on my town _

_Goodnight. _

Max Wainwright was in her room looking for a box to pack the gifts the Athosian's had given her, this had been an amazing year and not always for the right reasons. Things had been fine for the first few months but things had spiralled out of control very quickly and she'd hurt a lot of people on the way. She and Evan had finally picked up the pieces of their relationship and started again when the Ancients had thrown a spanner in the works. They'd talked last night about what they were going to do when they got back to Earth, she wanted to live in San Francisco and he was looking for a small base in the middle of nowhere for him and Maria. He wanted to get as far away from the SGC and the IOA as possible and it had sounded tempting to Max, they still had eighteen days to work out the rest of their problems and she hoped that at the end of it they could find a small town somewhere that suited the three of them.

* * *

Crysta Santella was leaning on the railings doing what everyone else in the city was doing, watching the sunset for the last time, she turned at the sound of footsteps and saw that it was Dr Nick Parrish.

"Hi" he said

"Hi yourself" she replied

"The Daedalus is here" he remarked

"Already?" Crysta said. He nodded

"Just saw it come through the atmosphere" he replied

"I can't believe we've got to go" she said

"I know, this is the only place that's ever really felt like home" Nick remarked.

"I know what you mean, I've been so happy here, it's not fair" she said, Nick put his arm around her

"I know, I know" he said.

_I can see the sun's sinking fast _

_And just like I've said, nothing good ever lasts _

_Well go on I've got to kiss you goodbye _

_But I don't want to my lover 'cause my hearts just died _

_Go on then and say goodbye to my town, to my town _

_I can see the sun's gone down on my town, on my town _

John Sheppard found Elizabeth on the control tower balcony

"The Daedalus landed five minutes ago, I thought you'd like to know" he said

"Thank you John" she replied. He could see her facade start to crack, she bought her hand up to her face in an effort to control herself "it's really happening isn't it?", he nodded

"Yeah it is" he said, he could see tears run down her cheeks so he wrapped his arms around her and held her close as she sobbed.

_Goodnight_

Alex and Radek kissed as the last rays of the sun disappeared and promised to meet as soon as they could.

Lydia promised Rodney she'd put her notes into some coherent order and send them to him.

Nick Parrish wiped the tears off Crysta's cheek and said he'd name a flower after her one day.

_Goodnight_

Evan tucked Maria up in bed and promised her that everything would be ok.

Carson looked over the final inventory of equipment and hugged every member of his staff, promising to keep in touch.

Max looked at the pictures the Athosian children had given her on their last day and finally gave into tears.

_Goodnight_

John and Elizabeth watched the sun finally disappear, the Lantean light had died and so had a little bit of everyone.

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_miláčku - _My sweet.


End file.
